


Two Fish in a Pond

by wynnebat



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hogwarts First Year, Humor, Slytherin Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:01:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21613501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wynnebat/pseuds/wynnebat
Summary: On the way to Hogwarts, Harry is befriended by a different incoming first year.
Relationships: Harry Potter & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 33
Kudos: 467
Collections: Multifandom OC Appreciation Day





	Two Fish in a Pond

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Multifandom Original Character Appreciation Day 2019](https://starriewolf.tumblr.com/tagged/ocday2019). OC based on character trait suggestions by bladesofthevalkyrie, pansexual-scalie, and acornjunction.

It's not that she's not invited, exactly. Liz is perfectly aware that her brother would only be too happy to make room for her in his cabin, moving aside so that there's room for her between him and his best friend, with their other, cooler friends sitting on the other side of the cabin. It's only that Liz really has no intention of being crammed inside a cabin with as many first years as possible, all talking loudly about which house they'll end up in and why. There's only one house that's good enough and even though Liz agrees with them, she doesn't quite have the same reasons.

And so she bids her brother goodbye, escaping down the train before he can block her way. She'll pick up her luggage later. Or not, maybe that's the job of the house elves. She's excited to see a Hogwarts house elf in person; the only one she's ever seen is the Malfoys' bedraggled, droopy-eared elf, and that was no fun at all.

Liz takes a peek through each window as she walks through the train. It rumbles beneath her feet. A few times, it shakes, and she keeps one hand on the wall just in case. She trips once and that's already one time too many for her poor, bruised knees. Too many cabins are full of older students. Her babysitter is somewhere on the train, but Liz figures it would be rude to ask if she can sit with her. Penelope probably has other friends to sit with, anyway. All the cabins she passes are too full of people or too full of people and cats.

When she comes across a cabin with only two occupants, a boy and an owl, she takes the opportunity.

"Can I sit here?" Liz asks, already stepping inside. "I promise I'll be quiet."

The boy looks her way. The owl does too, all white and feathery and beautiful, and Liz has to resist reaching out to pet her feathers. The owl makes a small noise, while the boy nods, making no noise at all.

"Thanks," Liz says, shutting the compartment door the rest of the way behind her. It only occurs to her then that she'd said an extra word, and wasn't quiet at all, so she mimes the silencing spell with her finger and grins.

The boy smiles shyly. "You don't have to be quiet."

"Oh, good. I'm not good at being quiet," Liz admits. "My brother's the quiet one." She takes a moment to observe the boy sitting across from her in the same way she's already keenly observed his beautiful owl. His dark hair is dark and his glasses are bound together with some kind of of not quite clear parchment. There's a scar on his forehead peeking out from his messy hair, and _oh_. Excitedly, she says, "Did you know your eyes are the exact color of the Black Lake Snakefish?"

He blinks. "I'm sorry?"

"Don't be sorry. It's a good thing! Well, maybe not the _best_ thing, considering that the greater magical community is still peeved about us accidentally letting that fish loose into their waters—it's not a very good fish, on account of it liking to go after merpeople—but it's a very pretty fish. I'm Liz, by the way."

"I'm Harry," says her companion, sounding a little shocked. "Do you think anyone'll notice?"

"No, no. I've never met anyone at all who cares about fish as much as I do. Not even my twin. He doesn't care about fish at all."

Harry runs a hand through his hair, and admits, "I don't know much about fish."

"Do you want to learn?"

"Yes, please."

Liz grins at him until he matches her, even if his smile is slower, smaller, but still sincere. She's always happy to educate people on her favorite thing in the world. It's part of the reason for why she's been so excited about going to Hogwarts: the hope that someday she'll meet someone who'll wade through the shallow end of the lake with her, or go diving with her, or identify all sorts of aquatic life with her. And ducks. She's very fond of ducks.

Harry doesn't run away or shoo her out of his compartment. Instead, he listens as she describes all the magical and non-magical fish that she's encountered. There's a wood behind her family's home and a river that runs through it and an hour's walk away is a lake that she's spent countless hours in.

"That's why I want to be in Slytherin," Liz says, sighing happily as she thinks of the future. "Did you know the Slytherin dormitory is underwater? The common room has this giant window that lets you see into the Black Lake. I'm going to spend all my time there. Except for classes. And swimming in the Black Lake. And mealtime."

"I met someone who also wanted to be in Slytherin when I was robes shopping."

Liz nods. "It's the best house, 'cause of the underwater window."

"Do you really think so?" Harry asks. He still sounds unsure.

Liz nods firmly. "Just think of how much you can observe from it! My cousin Meg says she saw a group of merpeople swim by once. And she says that there's a secret entrance from the dungeons to the bottom of the lake. I don't know if I believe her."

"It could be true," Harry says. "It's a magical castle. Anything is possible."

Her mood lightens at the very thought. "You're right."

"But what if you don't get into Slytherin? There could be a test."

"It's not a test at all. All you have to do is sit under a hat." Liz frowns. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone because it would ruin the surprise, but Mum said she was scared about me worrying too much. I'm not worried. I just have to convince the hat that I am devious and cunning and ambitious and the perfect fit for Slytherin."

Harry nods, looking thoughtful. "You could tell the hat about all the devious things you've done?"

"Can I tell you a secret?"

"Yes."

Liz leans in and whispers it just in case the hat has exceptional hearing. "I haven't done anything devious."

Harry gives a huff of laughter. "I have, sometimes."

Wide-eyed, Liz decides then and there that this was destiny. "Please teach me your ways, devious one."

It's a little late to study up on the ways of the Slytherin, but it doesn't hurt to educate herself. Neither does it hurt to hear all about Harry's stories of accidental magic. It sounds terribly fun, turning a teacher's wig blue and stealing from a cousin. Liz had grown up with no neighbors in sight and so few friends outside of her brother, who loves her but doesn't understand her, and tries to protect her all too much for her liking. She's only a few minutes younger than him. If things had gone a little differently, she could've been the elder sibling.

The hours pass. They ply themselves with sweets from the trolley. Liz has always been fond of chocolate frogs, once letting one loose and watching it until it lost its magic (and then having to clean the chocolate from her walls under her Mum's exasperated expression), while Harry seems to prefer ice mice.

By the time they exit the train under the groundskeeper's loud directions, the two of them are fast friends. Liz dearly hopes that Harry will be in Slytherin with her.

She waves to her brother and pulls Harry along with her as she heads to meet up with her brother. "Hey, Greg!"

"I saved you a seat," Greg says, motioning toward the boat.

"I could swim."

"Mum said no."

Liz narrows her eyes. "Did she really? It doesn't matter. Look, I made a friend. He likes fish, too."

"Especially the Black Lake Snakefish," Harry says, sharing a glance with her.

Liz tries so hard not to laugh. A giggle slips out anyway. Greg sighs and lets Harry onto the boat, too. Vince and Draco are left to find another boat since between Greg's height and Liz's excited swinging from side to side to look out at the water, there's no more room on their little boat. She barely notices as Harry and Greg introduce themselves. What matters is the dark waters below and the motion of the boat as they're propelled across the lake. The _Black Lake_. She's been dreaming about this for years. It's not her little pond-lake at home. It's so much better.

Nose practically brushing the water's edge, Liz grips the side of the boat. She kicks at Greg when he takes hold of her ankle.

"You're not allowed to fall in," Greg tells her.

"But I only have seven years to make friends with the Giant Squid. I have to use my time wisely."

"I don't think that sounds wise," Harry offers, hesitant yet firm.

Greg sighs in relief. "That's two votes for _get back up here_."

Liz kicks him instead.

This is, perhaps, not the best choice.

By the time Liz walks onto the stone steps of Hogwarts, she's wet and shivering, and she's gotten her first mouthful of Black Lake water. First, but surely not the last. She's vibrating from both the autumn chill and from the excitement of getting her first look into the depths of the lake. Strands of algae linger on her robes and hair. Liz yearns to start an aquarium immediately upon arrival in her dormitory.

Behind her, Greg and Harry are much less thrilled about having been capsized into the water when the boat turned over. They've been muttering about it to each other throughout the whole trip. Liz has decided to think of it as a bonding experience. There's nothing better than bonding over aquatic life.

Professor McGonagall gives them a terribly disapproving look before drying their robes with a spell. The algae vanishes, which Liz pouts about for a moment before she's distracted by the grand entrance hall of Hogwarts.

"We're finally here," she says, her voice hushed, and links her arms with Harry and Greg. "Greg, you know what to do."

"Convince the hat to sort me in Slytherin," her twin dutifully says.

Liz glances over at Harry. "It's your choice, but..."

"Maybe," Harry replies, looking nervously over at the stool at the center of the great hall, upon which sat the sorting hat. "Or maybe it won't sort me at all and will tell me I'm not really supposed to be here."

"Too late for that," Liz assures him. "You've already been in the Black Lake. They have to let you stay after that. It's a rule."

"Is it?"

But before long, they can't even whisper between one another because the sorting ceremony has begun. Liz watches Hannah Abbott get sorted with trepidation. Hufflepuffs are on the lower level, too, but they don't have access to the underwater window. Ravenclaws and Gryffindors are both up in towers, the furthest possible place from the lake. She couldn't possibly sort into one of those houses. Anything but Slytherin is out of the question.

By the time the Hat falls onto her head, Liz has a million thoughts going through her head. She decides to give voice to them all. 

"I have a list of reasons for why I should be in Slytherin," Liz tells the Hat. Her lips make no sound; it's all in her head. It's very similar to the time she was bitten by a venomous snake and had to tap on her Mum's emergency portkey because she couldn't speak.

The Hat sighs. It's unnerving to hear someone else sigh in your own head. "That's unnecessary, dear. I can read your thoughts."

Liz grips the stool tightly as she waits for the Hat's verdict. "Then you can tell that I'm _ambitiously_ going to catalogue all the species in the Black Lake, _deviously_ sneak out after curfew to observe the plants and animals that glow in the dark, and _cunningly_ entice my yearmates to join me? Please, Mr. Hat."

"You're sure you wouldn't prefer—"

"Yes, I'm sure," Liz thinks as loudly as she can. She doesn't even want to hear what the Hat would suggest. Anything but Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.

The Hat hums. "You'd do well there, you know."

"I'll be just fine, Mr. Hat," Liz promises. It won't all be lakewater and roses. She's well aware of that, having grown up with her father's stories about Slytherin house. But that's where she wants to be.

"Then that's where you'll be: SLYTHERIN."

Before she lifts the hat off her head, Liz says, "Could you give Harry a message for me? Tell him that I'm going to the lake before breakfast tomorrow. He could come. If he wants. He doesn't have to. I'd like him to."

"I'm not an owl," the Hat squawks before she can ramble further, all but leaping off her head.

Liz heads off to the Slytherin table to sit next to Vince. The section for first years is almost empty, though not for long. Greg is sorted into Slytherin immediately after her. She hadn't been worried about him joining her, but Greg looks relieved as he sits down. Their section fills up as the sorting ceremony continues, with Draco and Pansy and Daphne joining them. And then it's Harry's turn, and Liz closes her eyes and hopes. 

There's a lot of words said about Harry Potter being placed in Slytherin. Liz doesn't pay attention to a single one. All she does is make room next to her for him and make sure that Greg is on his other side to protect him from Draco's sudden need to try to steal her new friend.

After dinner, during which she consumes more gravy than anything else, Liz is the first one in line to enter the Slytherin common room. She runs to the window and sighs in wonder at the sight of the many fish and plants just on the other side. Pressing her hand against the cold glass, Liz can't imagine a better day. A new friend, a new lake, a new beginning.

"It's beautiful," Liz breathes. "I'm so glad I'm here."

"Me, too," Harry says, smiling when she turns to look at him.

It's early yet, but she's so very hopeful that she's finally found her marine life partner in crime.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm also on [Tumblr](https://wynnefic.tumblr.com/).


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